Tying The Tarzan Series Together With Characters

This is a list of the Tarzan books according to the appearance of the characters. These character appearances in different books help bind the book's events to specific time periods. This in turn, with other dating tricks, helps supply the unprovided dates to events in a Tarzan Chronology.

Tarzan Series

This 1872 Tarzan chronology list is my personal working list. I only mention the recurring characters. This list is compiled in the order that Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote the stories, not by how they were published. This list is meant to show you which books are bound together by reappearing characters.

Tarzan Series

Date: must occur before the writing date of  January 31, 1871, through October 29, 1890 

Book:  Tarzan Of The Apes (Part One)
Characters:  Kerchak-Mbonga's village-Chief Mbonga is introduced.

Tarzan Of The Apes

Date:  must occur before the writing date of October 29, 1890, through November 4, 1892

Book:  Jungle Tales Of Tarzan
Characters:  Kerchak-Mbonga's village-Chief Mbonga

Burne Hogarth

Date:  must occur before the writing date of November 5, 1892, through August 22, 1893

Book:  Tarzan Of The Apes (Part Two)

Characters: Kerchak-Mbonga's village-Chief Mbonga. Jane Porter-Professor Porter-William Cecil Clayton-Esmeralda & Paul d'Arnot are introduced.

Tarzan Of The Apes

Date:  must occur before the writing date of 1894-1895

Book:  The Return Of Tarzan

Characters:  Jane-Professor Porter-William Cecil Clayton-Esmeralda-D'Arnot. Nikolas Rokoff-Alexis Paulvitch-Busuli & La are introduced.

N.C. Wyeth

Date:  must occur before the writing date of 1896

Book: The Beasts Of Tarzan

Characters:  Jane-Esmeralda-D'Arnot-Busuli-Nicolas Rockoff-Alexis Paulvitch. Akut-Mugambi & John "Jack" Clayton/Korak is introduced.

The Beasts Of Tarzan

Date:  must occur before the writing date of 1906-1912

Book:  The Son Of Tarzan

Characters:  Jane-D'Arnot-Busuli-Mugambi-Korak-Nicolas Rockoff-Alexis Paulvitich-Akut-Tarzan's African estate. Jervis-Muviri-Meriem is introduced.

J. Allen St. John

Date: must occur before the writing date of 1912

Book: Tarzan And The Jewels Of Opar
Characters: Jane-Busuli-Mugambi-Waziri warriors-Jervis-La.

Tarzan And The Jewels Of Opar

Date:  must occur before the writing date of August 9, 1918
Book: Tarzan The Untamed
Characters:  Jane-Waziri warriors-Tarzan's African estate. Chief Muviro is introduced.

Tarzan The Untamed

Date: must occur before the writing date of  early spring 1913

Book: The Eternal Lover/Savage

Characters:  Jane-Esmeralda-Tarzan's African estate. Jackie Clayton (Korak's son/Tarzan's grandson)-John Carter's great-nephew (the narrator) is introduced.

J. Allen St. John

Date: must occur before the writing date of July 10, 1913

Book:  Man Eater 
Characters:  Jane-Jervis.

The Man-Eater

Date:  must occur before the writing date of July through October 1916

Book:  Tarzan The Terrible
Characters:  Jervis-Korak. Old Muviro is introduced.

Tarzan The Terrible

Date: must occur before the writing date of November 1916 through 1919  
Book:  Tarzan And The Golden Lion

Characters:  Jane-Jervis-Korak-La-Old Muviro-Wairi warriors-Tarzan's African estate. Usula-Jad-bal-ja is introduced.

J. Allen St. John

Date:  must occur before the writing date of  June 20, 1923
Book:  Tarzan And The Ant Men
Characters:  Korak-Meriem-Jackie-Usula-Jad-ba-jal.

J. Allen St. John

Date:  must occur before the writing date of November 16, 1926.
Book:  Tarzan And The Tarzan Twins

Characters:  Jad-bal-ja-Warziri warriors-La (does not make an appearance but gets a mention). Young Muviro-Doctor Karl von Harben-Dick Clayton (kin to Tarzan on his father's side) is introduced.

Chat:  Tarzan And The Tarzan Twins is made up of two Tarzan novellas written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author, for young readers. The children's books were originally published as The Tarzan Twins, and The Tarzan Twins With Jad-bal-ja The Golden Lion. The two stories were integrated into one book, in 1963 under the title of Tarzan And The Tarzan Twins, in the first complete edition.

     Although the two stories were written about six months apart the related events occur in the same time frame. The opening passage of Tarzan And The Tarzan Twins With Jad-bal-ja The Golden Lion specifies that its events occur immediately after those of The Tarzan Twins.

Characters:  Jad-bal-ja-La-Cadj-Oparians-Doctor Karl von Harben.

     The two parts of the Tarzan Twins occur between Tarzan And The Ant Men and Tarzan, Lord Of The Jungle chronologically. The first novella, The Tarzan Twins, was published between these two novels. The second novella, Tarzan And The Tarzan Twins With Jad-bal-ja The Golden Lion confirms their placement in approximately this period as it introduces a family that figures prominently in Tarzan And The Lost Empire, the next book after Tarzan Lord Of The Jungle. Here we are informed of Tarzan's first meeting with Doctor Karl von Harben, with whom the ape-man is already acquainted in Tarzan And The Lost Empire.

     Because Tarzan And The Tarzan Twins is a children's book, however, it is customarily omitted from listings of the main Tarzan series. I have chosen to include it in my 1872 chronology for three reasons.

1. It was written by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
2. It can easily be dated within the Tarzan series.
3. The characters Doctor Karl von Harben and young Muviro also appear in other books of the Tarzan series.

Roy G. Krenkel

Date:  must occur before the writing date of June or July 1927
Book:  Tarzan Lord Of The Jungle
Characters:  Jad-bal-ja-Young Muviro.

J. Allen St John

Date:  must occur before the writing date of March 29, 1928
Book:  Tarzan And The Lost Empire

Characters:  Jad-bal-ja-Young Muviro-Doctor Karl von Harben-Erich von Herben. Nkima is introduced.

Tarzan And The Lost Empire

Date:  must occur before writing date December 6, 1928
Book:  Tarzan At The Earth's Core

Characters: Jad-bal-ja-Young Muviro-Waziri warriors-Nkima-Doctor von Harben-Erich von Herben.

J. Allen St. John

Date:  must occur before the writing date of May 13, 1927
Book:  Tarzan The Invincible

Characters:  Jad-bal-ja-Young Muviro-La-Nkima-To-yat-Ga-yet-Zu-tho (3 apes from Tarzan's old tribe). 

J. Allen St. John

Date:  must occur before the writing date of February 27, 1931
Book:  Tarzan Triumphant
Characters:  Jad-bal-ja-Young Muviro-Nkima.

Studley Oldham Burroughs

Date:  must occur before the writing date of July 9, 1931
Book:  Tarzan And The Leopard Men
Characters:  Jad-bal-ja-Young Muviro-Nkima-Zu-tho-Ga-yat

J. Allen St John

Date:  must occur before the writing date of November 21, 1931
Book:  Tarzan And The City Of Gold
Characters:  Jud-bal-ja-Young Muviro-Nkima.

J. Allen St John

Date:  must occur before the writing date of  February 9, 1933
Book:  Tarzan And The Lion Man
Characters:  Jad-bal-ja-Young Muviro-Nkima.

Tarzan And The Lion Man

Date:  must occur before the writing date of May 13, 1934
Book:  Tarzan's Quest
Characters:  Jane- Hazel Strong-Young Muviro-Nkima.

J. Allen St John

Date:  1935 or 1936
Book:  Tarzan The Magnificent
Characters:  Young Muviro-Nkima.

J. Allen St John

Date:  must occur before the writing date of October 10, 1937
Book:  Tarzan And The Forbidden City

Characters:  Nkima-Paul D'Arnot. Gaun-Zutthe is introduced.

Chat: Some 1888 chronologists from the past have tried to place Tarzan And The Forbidden City after The Return Of Tarzan because of Paul D'Arnot's reappearance. Although D'Arnot's reappearance certainly raises a mystery because of his age I can't follow this reasoning because Busuli, Mugambi, or Jervis do not appear in Tarzan And The Forbidden City. Also, Nkima is a central figure in Tarzan And The Forbidden City but he does not appear in The Return Of Tarzan or The Beasts Of Tarzan. The apes, Gaun and Zutthe, are mentioned in Tarzan And The Forbidden City and also in Tarzan And The Mad Man. Neither are mentioned in The Return Of Tarzan or The Beasts Of Tarzan.

John Coleman Clayton

Date:  must occur before the writing date of January 16, 1940
Book:  Tarzan And The Mad Man
Characters:  Nkima-Ga-un-Zu-tho.

Reed Crandall

Book:  Tarzan And The Castaways

Chat:  The first publication was by Canaveral Press in 1965. The book is made up of three previously published magazine stories. They are listed below.

Frank Frazetta

Date:  must occur before the writing date of January 10, 1939
Book:  Tarzan And The Castaways / Tarzan And The The Jungle Murders
Characters:  No past characters or locations.
Chat:  England declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939, chapter 3.

Thrilling Adventures

 

Date: must occur before the writing date of July 17, 1939
Book:  Tarzan And The Castaways / Tarzan And The Champion
Characters:  Nkima-Young Muviro-Warziri warriors.

Tarzan And The Champion

Date:  must occur before the writing date of November 1940

Book:  Tarzan And The Castaways / The Quest Of Tarzan

Characters:  Nkima-Young Muviro-Waziri warriors.

Argosy Weekly

Date:  must begin before the writing date of June 10, 1944
Book: Tarzan And The Foreign Legion
Characters:   No past characters or locations.

John Coleman Burroughs

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

James Michael Moody is a lifelong fan and collector of Edger Rice Burroughs. Over the past forty-five years, Moody has contributed over two hundred articles to various ERB-related fanzines. He also manages an unauthorized Tarzan blog titled Greystoke Chronologist: James Michael Moody. There, the researcher chronologies the Tarzan books starting in May 1872 (known as the pushback theory) instead of the more accepted date, May 1888.

James Michael Moody also authorizes the action-packed Sci-Fi fantasy adventure Unium series. Pioneers On Unium, published December 31, 2019, Exiled On Unium, published August 25, 2022, and Swordsman On Unium, published on July 15, 2024.